Always
by ToumaFF
Summary: Going to school was always a chore. Going to school with a fever is even worse. Falling delirious while suffering under the fever? Definitely not one of Oreki Houtarou's best days. Luckily there was a rather enchanting angel ready to catch his fall.


BEE-

I immediately shut off the alarm clock with a well-practiced smack of my left hand. Sighing deeply into my pillows, I tried to ignore the annoying glare of the sun. The cocoon that was made of my blankets was incredibly comfortable, and I wished I could simply stay like this forever...

"Houtarou!"

A rather annoying voice echoed through the house, and I pointedly ignored it. I wanted to enjoy the few moments of peace early in the morning. For some reason this particular morning felt extra cold, and I shivered despite the warmth of my bed.

"Wake up Houtarou! Don't make me come up there!"

I sighed loudly into my pillows before blearily sitting up. The drowsiness of waking up was slipping away rapidly, and I lamented at the loss. There was no way to fall back asleep now.

Looking at the alarm clock, I noticed that it was only 6:39 am, which left plenty of time to get ready for school. For some reason however, I felt that my body was unusually heavy this morning. Must be from my lack of sleep the previous night.

Dragging my tired body to the bathroom was a chore, but it was preferred to the inevitable arrival of my sister. Her ways of waking me up was... troublesome to say the least.

Looking at my self through the mirror, I noted the bags under each eye and the mess that was my hair.

Just another typical morning for Oreki Houtarou.

* * *

"Houtarou?"

I acknowledged my sister with a grunt, choosing not to raise my head from it's current position on the table. The kitchen table was surprisingly cool, and felt wonderful against my cheek.

There was the sound of plates being placed on the table, before I found my sister staring deeply into my eyes.

"...what?" She was looking at me with an appraising eye.

"Are you feeling alright Houtarou?" She had a note of concern in her voice.

"Yea... I'm just tired."

She shook her head in amusement. "You're always tired dummy."

Yawning, I didn't bother to refute her, but did sit up with a slight effort on my part. Regarding the traditional Japanese breakfast in front of me, I tried to muster up an appetite.

Taking a bite of rice, I forced myself to chew and swallow, an action that was surprisingly difficult. For some reason, I really couldn't bring myself to eat, even though I had a rather light dinner the night before.

I took a nibble of the fish before sighing.

"What's wrong? Is it not good?"

I frowned. "No, it's fine. I'm just not hungry this morning."

My sister's cooking was always good, much better than anything I could make anyways. She had been cooking for me ever since she had gotten back, something that made his mornings much easier. If only she stopped nagging him.

"That won't do Houtarou, a growing boy has to eat!" There was another tone of worry, and this time she reached across the table to place a hand against his forehead. "Are you sure you're fine?"

I lightly smacked her hand away from my forehead, sighing tiredly. "Told you, I'm just tired."

"Fine... at least drink the soup." She gestured to the bowl of miso soup, and I reluctantly obeyed.

The soup was much easier to take down, and I found myself sipping away almost absently. The warmth that spread through my body was much needed, and I immediately found myself dozing off.

"Houtarou..." She sighed. "Do you want to stay home today? I can call in for you."

Stay home today? The thought was like a dream to me, if only I could crawl back to the comforting embrace of my bed...

"I can't..." I muttered resignedly. "There's a test today."

If there was one thing he couldn't afford to do was skipping tests, especially since he had spent so much of his precious energy the night before, studying. It was always the most uninteresting subjects that took the most energy from him.

"Are you sure?" She tried again, it seemed that she was in full 'mothering mode' now.

"I'll be fine." Trying to reassure my sister, I got up steadily despite the heaviness I felt, and began to clear the table. "I can take a nap at lunch anyway."

The test was during the the first half of school, if I survive for that long then I can just sleep the rest of the day away. I already doze off during class anyways.

* * *

The school bell rang resoundingly, sending painful vibrations through my head.

This was a terrible idea. Blinking my eyes, I noticed that the hand on the classroom clock had barely moved at all. My body seemed to be unresponsive, and I was truly glad that the test was done with. I probably didn't do so well, but at least I didn't have anything to worry about for the rest of the day.

"Oreki?"

I raised my tired head to glance at Satoshi, he was regarding me with a startled expression.

"Are you okay? Your face is burning up."

Raising one hand to my cheek, I immediately felt the difference in temperature. "Crap..."

He smirked. "You have a fever don't you?"

"...Shut up." I rested my head back onto my desk, thankful for the break granted by the end of the class.

"You really should go home you know, I don't think I've ever seen you like this." There was a small note of worry in his voice.

I turned my head briefly to glance out the window, noting the dark clouds despite the fact that it was noon. Walking home in my current condition was likely impossible, and I definitely did not want to be caught out in the rain.

"Can't." I muttered tiredly, I seemed to have no luck at all today. I definitely should have stayed in bed.

"Mmm, I see that... you probably won't even reach the school gates in your condition."

Way to state the obvious Satoshi. I would raise my head to glare at him but the energy simply wasn't there.

"Alright." There was a tone of finality in his voice. "Go sleep in the nurses office Houtarou, I'll let the teachers know."

Sleep. That single word sent a jolt of energy down my spine, and I looked up at Satoshi with a hopeful expression. "Really..."

"Yup." He gave me a thumbs up with a radiant smile. "I'll send someone to check up on you later, can you make it there by yourself?"

I gave him a tired nod before painfully getting up from my desk, the simple action was hard when I could barely feel my body. Moving tiredly, and unsteadily out of the classroom, I started making my way to the... nurses room?

My feet led me to the general direction that I knew the office would be, trying desperately to avoid the crowd of students on the way. I must have made quite the sight, stumbling along the walls like a zombie.

I couldn't muster up the energy to care however, as my surroundings was more of a blur to me than anything.

"O-oreki-san?"

A soft and melodious voice brought me back to reality, and I turned my head to find a familiar dark-haired girl.

"Ah...Chitanda." I tried to give her a wave, but I must have stumbled along the way as I suddenly felt myself being supported by a pair of slim arms.

"Oreki-san!" Her hands were so soft, and she smelled so nice. I found myself nodding off before catching myself.

"Sorry..." I tried to steady myself unsuccessfully, probably because the world seemed to be spinning.

She pressed an open hand against my forehead, and her cool skin felt so amazing that I instinctively leaned into it. "Oh my... you have a fever Oreki-san!"

She was saying something to me, but all I could focus on was the coolness of her hand pressed to my head.

"Come on Oreki-san, we have to go to the nurses office." She slung one of my arms over her shoulders, and supported me as we stumbled slowly towards the medical section.

I couldn't see where we were going, but Eru seemed to know where to go. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head closer to her, pressing my head against her cheeks.

"O-oreki-san?" When did her voice become so... beautiful?

"Eru..." I tried to formulate a sentence, but all that came out was a whisper. She suddenly shivered against me, and I wondered if she was cold.

"W-we're here!"

The sound of the door opening was barely registered to my dulled senses, but I felt the world shift and my back being pressed against an immensely soft surface. The familiar comfort of a bed, and the feel of a pillow pressed against my head was heavenly.

"It seems that the Nurse is away... Oh no, what do we do?"

I think she was trying to say something, but the words didn't register to me. With a moment of clarity, I suddenly realised her hand was still clasped with mine, and I gave it an experimental squeeze.

"Ah! Uhm... I think I'll go get some help Oreki-san."

Her hand felt so soft... so warm...

"S-so, stay right here, I'll be right back okay?"

I suddenly realised that the warmth was about to leave me. I didn't want that.

"Eru." I opened one immensely tired eye to look at the girl before me.

Long, beautiful raven tresses framed the face of an angel. Clear, vibrant violet eyes stared at me innocently, and I was instantly captured by the sheer intensity of her gaze.

Those same eyes had always captivated me. The ones that gleamed with curiosity at every mystery, always serving to break past my walls. There was simply nothing I could do against those eyes.

But today was different.

"Stay with me."

Her beautiful eyes widened in shock.

"Eh!?"

Immediately, her cherubic face turned a brilliant shade of red. "O-oreki-san?"

I didn't know what was driving me, but one thing was clear. I wanted her by my side.

Gripping her hand tightly, and using every ounce of strength I had left, I pulled the girl to my side.

"EEP!"

All of a sudden, the angel was sprawled atop of me, too shocked to move. The warmth, and softness was simply too good.

"Eru..."

I wanted this... I needed this.

"A-ah...O-oreki?"

She shifted lightly atop of me, and I sighed contently, breathing in the scent of her hair as her head rested just under the crook of my chin. I turned us over slowly so that I was resting on my side, and embraced the girl in arms tighter.

"Always... by my side..."

She murmured something but I couldn't hear, the world was slowly dimming, and as I closed my tired eyes, I noticed that I was no longer cold.

* * *

The school-bell rang once more, echoing through the entire building.

I opened my bleary eyes, noting that half my vision was covered by... hair? When did my hair get this long...

Something stirred in my arms.

Looking down, I found myself in the captivating eyes of one Chitanda Eru. Suddenly the memories came rushing back to me, and I suddenly felt a rush of embarrassment surge through me.

"C-chitanda." I wasn't sure where to begin. Apologize immediately? I had no experience with something like this.

She blinked in confusion.

I suddenly noticed that she made no move to get out of my embrace. I didn't move my hands, hoping to stay still. Shouldn't the girl be exploding in feminine rage?

"Oreki-san." She stated simply, with a hint of a blush on her face.

"...Hello."

"Hi."

We stared into each other's eyes, and I felt the familiar captivating pull. It seemed that Chitanda wasn't mad at me. Maybe I had been reading the wrong mangas.

"Chitanda-san... I'm sorry." I felt the need to apologize anyways, since I had obviously kept her away from the afternoon classes. "Your clas-"

I stopped as she suddenly pressed a single finger against my lips.

She smiled radiantly, and it seemed to light up the room. "This is the first time... that you asked me to do something Oreki-san."

Was it? I knew that she felt a bit apologetic every time she calls me out but...

"I'm always relying on you Oreki-san..." She moved her hand to cup my cheeks, and suddenly I felt blood rushing to my face.

"Always..."

In that small moment, I didn't think there was anything else in the world besides me and the girl in my arms.

"So, that's why I was so happy... when you asked me to stay."

I smiled in return, this was not going the way I thought it would, but I had no room to complain. Closing my eyes, I hugged the girl in my arms tighter to me, maybe I was slightly delirious from the fever, but I felt that I didn't really care.

Her blush was adorable, and she shyly embraced me back.

"Always... Oreki-san."

* * *

**A/N: **

**So, a Hyouka oneshot, a rather short one at that. I found the series to be extremely cute, and the characters to be very intriguing. **

**This was just a oneshot based on a thought of mine. "Oreki just needs to embrace Eru and never let go." **

**Haha, well, tell me what you guys think. Shoutout to Fool's Journey for telling to write this.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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